Local • News & Public Affairs • Podcast
Heartland Labor Forum is Kansas City's only program about the workplace. It is produced by and for our working people. We have been agitating on the air since 1989. Find out who is busting unions and who is fighting back. We are a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network #laborradiopod
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The Team
Heartland Labor Forum Programmers
The Heartland Labor Forum is produced by a group of volunteers who are labor and community activists who believe in workplace democracy, workers rights, and economic justice. We're the only show in Kansas City that focuses on working people: who is fighting on their side and who is not, what they need to know about the economy. We seek to educate and inspire.
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The Heartland Labor Forum is Kansas City’s only program about the workplace. It’s radio that talks back to the boss! Whether you’re a union member or your workplace isn’t organized, Heartland Labor Forum (HLF) has stories for you, guaranteed to inspire, educate, or enrage you. HLF is produced by a diverse group of working people. We have been agitating for the rights of working people on the KKFI airwaves since 1989.
Find out about labor struggles and strikes, organizing in Kansas City, global sweatshops, and how the economy is working from the point of view of working people. Listen to our monthly features: Know Your Rights, Safety First, Remember Our Struggle, and Washington Window on Workers. Heartland Labor Forum has won the International Labor Communications Association first prize for radio several times. We are members of the Labor Radio Podcast Network #laborradiopod. Other media have plenty of business news of, by, and for the 1%; HLF is for the rest of us.
Find our schedule of upcoming shows and our archive at www.heartlandlaborforum.org.
Feature Editors
- Michael Amash does Know Your Rights once a month. He is with the Blake & Uhlig labor law firm.
- Mark Gruenberg is on once a month with Washington Window on Workers. He is a full-time labor journalist with PAI-Press Associates Inc. which provides news to unions and labor publications.
- Mark Galus does Labor Song of the Month when there is a fifth Thursday.
- Ariana Eakle does Remember Our Struggle about labor history.
Upcoming Episodes
May 1, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
May Day!
It’s May Day and this week the Heartland Labor Forum is celebrating International Workers Day with songs to raise the spirit, an interview from 1997 with Studs Terkel on the history of May Day, a tribute to black folk and labor singer John Handcox and who knows what else. Maybe we’ll even come up with the reason why labor day in the US isn’t on May first. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.
Read MoreApril 24, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Remembering the British Miners’ Strike after 40 Years with Miner John Dunn
What do you do when the head of state comes after your union with 6,000 cops and a license to kill? We’ll get advice from John Dunne who had his head bashed in by cops during the British Miners’ Strike of 1984. Dunne is a former miner with remarkable insight into the lessons the miners learned. Our Feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.
ListenApril 17, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Labor Leader Series: Dustin Himes from Bricklayers & Allied Craftsworkers Local 15 and Rep Tobias Schlingensiepen: Fighting Fascism from Germany to KS
This week the Heartland Labor Forum, explores the artistry of bricklayers and masons with Dustin Himes from the Bricklayers and Allied Crafts Local 15. Plus, Kansas State Representative Tobias Schlingensiepen discusses his German grandparent’s resistance to Hitler and what we can learn today plus issues from the legislative session.
ListenApril 10, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
How Do We Overcome Internal Division in Unions? and Beneath REI’s Green Sheen: Union Busting, Debt Bondage, and Partnership with Eco-Criminals
Creating division is key to defeating a union. This week, on the Heartland Labor Forum we ask organizers how they build solidarity. Then, REI, or Recreational Equipment Inc., has been labeled a global union buster and environmental cheat. We'll ask a worker.
ListenApril 3, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Layoffs at Haskell Indian Nations University: Treaty Violation? And Property Tax Reform: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
After taking office, President Trump cut funding for Haskell Indian Nation’s University, crippling its teaching capacity. We’ll speak to student leader Tara Roanhorse. The KS legislature also didn't cap property valuations, affecting property taxes. Rita Jefferson from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy will discuss solutions. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.
ListenMarch 27, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Why Has America’s Greatest Labor Progressive: Frank P. Walsh Been Forgotten? and The School District Bond Issue with Dr. Jennifer Collier
We'll interview labor historian Jeff Stilley about Frank Walsh, Kansas City's overlooked labor champion. Additionally, we'll discuss the Kansas City Public Schools Bond vote with Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Collier, who will explain its benefits and the district's test score progress. Our feature will be Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.
ListenMarch 20, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Will the Missouri Legislature Undo the Will of the Voters? and Former AFL-CIO Organizing Director Stewart Acuff: Love Is Solidarity in Action
The MO Legislature is at it again – trying to subvert the will of the people. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Missouri State Reps. Pattie Mansur and Tiffany Price who oppose reversing the popular will. Then, throughout his career, Stewart Acuff organized union after eventually becoming the organizing director for the AFL-CIO. In retirement he’s written a book of poetry called Love Is Solidarity in Action. He’ll be on the show
ListenMarch 13, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Federal Unions Fight Back
With President Trump’s dismantling of the federal bureaucracy in full swing, led by Elon Musk's DOGE, federal workers are under siege. But unionized federal workers are fighting back. We'll talk with leaders from the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union about their resistance efforts. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month
ListenMarch 6, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
CWA’s Margaret Cook: Attacks on the Public Sector and Half-Priced Books Workers Organize
Right-wing politicians have declared war on public employees across federal, state, and local levels, despite their hard work ensuring that essential government programs function. CWA represents many of these employees. We’ll speak with Margaret Cook, CWA's VP for Public, Health, and Education. Then, workers at three Half-Priced Bookstores in the KC area have unionized but they’re frustrated with management stalling on their first contract.
ListenFebruary 27, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
The Workers Strike Back Conference and Julie Greene on Who Built the Panama Canal and Trump’s Bullying
This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll report on the Workers Strike Back Conference advocating for a $25 minimum wage and healthcare. We’ll discuss Trump’s claims about the Panama Canal with historian Julie Greene. Bill Clause returns with commentary on the attack on government workers.
ListenFebruary 20, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
David Bacon on Domestic Workers Organizing and Nancy MacLean: Behind the Mask of Chivalry: The Making of the Second Ku Klux Klan
Union organizer and photojournalist David Bacon discusses cross-border labor solidarity and workers’ rights, highlighting grassroots organizing's impact on the labor movement. Next, Nancy MacLean explores her book, Behind the Mask of Chivalry, examining the Ku Klux Klan's 1915 resurgence and their true identities. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.
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